J.S.Bach's Musical Revolution - Assignment Example

Introduction Johann Bach entered school of St. Michael, the place where he realised that his voice and talent had potential to excel. Bach focused more upon instrumental than vocal music. Bach had thoroughly studied classical and contemporary composers including Girolamo Frescobaldi, Caspar Kerl, Buxtehude, Froberger, Muffat, Pachelbel and Johann Joseph Fux. Bach was inspired by Keiser, the person who is recognised for his services towards German opera. The church music and style of Keiser deeply influenced Bach. At the same time Bach was inspired by the French musician Hofkapelle, the music of Hofkapelle influenced Back's art peforming abilities, "an influence which inspired nearly all his works in suite-form and to which his many autograph copies of Couperin's music bear testimony". Bach struggled to secure his position at Arnstadt, after that he moved to St. Blasius in Mhlhausen from where he obtained organistship. Bach ws universally acclaimed for his keyboard performance. He served as Hofkonzertmeister to the duke of Weimar, where his job responsibility the composition of sacred music, "the great cantata, Ich hatte viel Bekmmerniss, was probably the first work of his new office". Bach was also appointed as "Kapellmeister to the duke of Cthen". During this period he initiated his work on "book of the Wohltemperirtes Klavier, the solo violin and violoncello sonatas, the Brandenburg concertos". Bach was deeply inspired by Handel, he therefore made "copy of his Passion nach Brockes". Bach developed the finest Passion and Der Tod Jesu which were revealed after his death, it was Bach who transformed Brockes. The major achievements of Back include "the Passion according to St. Matthew and the B Minor Mass". The importance of Bach in the history of music can never be ignored or avoided. His role can never be regarded as oil-fashioned, "a true composer the effect on the history of music was immediate and profound". It is right to suggest that Bach was reformer, who reinvented music. The role of Bach is that of a spectator of all musical time and existence. As per critics, "he left no form as he found it, not even that most conventional of all, the Da Capo Aria, which he did not outwardly alter in the least", also "with every form he touched he said the last word, all the material that could be assimilated into a mature art he vitalized in his own way, and he had no imitators". Cultural, Religious and Philosophical Aspect of Bach: Detail Analysis The St. Matthew by Bach is considered "the most monumental Passion ever composed". It was written in 1729, the master piece was written with the support of C.F. Henrici. The historians have commented that there is deep background behind this music, and the music has political and cultural aspects attach to it. As per record, "there are four Passions based on the particular Evangelist: John, Luke, Matthew, or Mark". At the time when Bach composed St. Matthew, it was regarded as "being one of the greatest sacred choral works ever composed", it has been also regarded as "the greatest classical composition in the entire field". As per musicians, Bach has used "double chorus and orchestra which are integral parts of the work's architecture and enhances its majestic nature". As per historians, on weekly basis "a Passion was performed in one of Leipzig's two principal churches, St., Thomas and St. Nicholas". It is realised that "Bach probably faced no harder task among his duties as Thomaskantor and music director of the city of Leipzig than the preparation of the yearly Passion music". In 1739, the music developed by Bach received criticism from the town council, however Bach hold clerk and informed them that he was not worried and "did not care, for got nothing out of it anyway, and it was only a burden". It is on record that the composer "spoke as a man embittered by numerous and protracted disputes with the Leipzig authorities". It is acknowledged that "the challenges involved in the creation of a Passion seem to have engaged him keenly". As per historians, Bach had deep attachment with the Passion; between the period from 1714 to 1717, "Bach's duties as ducal Concertmeister included the composition of a new cantata every four weeks, the young composer led a performance of St. Mark Passion by the Hamburg master Rheinhard Keiser and also wrote his own first Passion", it was the existing cultural and political situation which motivated him to discuss passion with deep emphasis towards religion. It is interesting to observe that when person is employed and satisfied his focus towards religion dilutes, this is common trend in our culture, the same is true for Bach. During his employment at Kothen, the composer did not produce any music. Cultural and Musical Aesthetic The Bach has been regarded as "tantamount to a sacred text, an artwork so quintessentially perfect in form, so unutterably beautiful from the dual perspectives of the mind and heart, intellect and emotions, that the best thing". The musical aesthetics of Bach is appreciable. The critics admire the music and sense of Bach, and have confessed that "if there is one piece of music that has generated an avalanche of diverse recordings, intense critical discussion and debate; it is Bach's Art of Fugue". During the same period, the critics have come across "some groundbreaking musicological work by Christoph Wolff and compelling theories by Hans Eggebrecht", however Bach was successful in retention of "its general aura of mystery". The critics have appreciated the musical sense of Bach, "the musical ideas themselves, the pure relation of note to note and voice to voice, are so consummately worked out that the music "works" on virtually any instrumental combination". It is important to realise the true picture of the era where Bach spend his life, "Bach belonged late in life to Lorenz Mizler's Society for Musical Sciences, a group that upheld the ancient arts of counterpoint and polyphony just as they were going out of fashion throughout Europe and as gallant music ascended in popularity", thus Bach's performance has no trace rather it was self-generation. The element of religion was deeply rooted in the music and life of the composer, "he was devoted to his Protestant ethic of practicality i.e. music was devoted to the glory of God, Bach's Art of Fugue contains extra-musical symbolism, as well as a directedness toward things celestial, it is also basically a textbook on fugue written with pedagogical aims in mind". The difference between Bach and others was expression of simplicity, "The Art of Fugue is comprised of 14 fugues and four canons. Though the order of the fugues and placement of the canons is a matter of endless debate, it is clear that Bach had a progression from the simplest to most complex counterpoints in mind when he conceived the compendium". The extent of development of single theme can be realised through several music developed by Bach including the Canonic Variations, A Musical Offering, and the Goldberg Variations, Die Kunst der Fuge. The difference between Bach and other musicians of his time is not only in terms of aesthetic; rather the religious and cultural elements are also different. Bach stands unique because of his sense of contraction and release throughout the music, his music is a source of intellectual excitement. It is true from aesthetic sense that the composer "covers enormous ground all the while sticking to his one theme; though a general tone of seriousness and even melancholy pervades the work, there are elements of intense joy, exuberance, vivacity, and freshness". References 1. Rosalyn Tureck. 2000. Introduction to the Performance of Bach: A Progressive Anthology of Keyboard. Oxford University Press. pp. 265. 2. Peter F. Williams. 2007. J.S. Bach: A Life in Music. Cambridge University Press. pp. 76-123. 3. Michael Kassler, Yo Tomita, Philip Olleson. 2004. The English Bach Awakening: Knowledge of J.S. Bach and His Music in England. pp. 287-321. 4. Anno Hellenbroich. 2000. J.S.Bach's Muscial Revolution. Fidelio Vol IX No. 2-3. Schiller Institue Publication. 5. Celia Applegate. 2007. Bach In Berlin: NAtion and Culture in Mendelssohn's REvival of the St. Matthew Passion. Music and Letters Vol 88 No. 02. pp. 364-367. 6. George Grove, Stanley Sadie. 1980. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Macmillan Publishers. pp. 121-148. Read More